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Overview

Re-released in 1972, Ochazuke No Aji, or The Flavor of Green Tea Over Rice, is one of those films whose transcendent simplicity transforms an ordinary story into something special. A man with very simple tastes and habits meets with growing exasperation from his more sophisticated wife. She treats him with increasing disrespect and nearly has an affair, but something changes her attitude and she returns to him with an appreciation for his simplicity and reliability.

Product Details

Release Date:

08/27/2019

UPC:

0715515233811

Original Release:

1952

Rating:

NR

Source:

Criterion

Region Code:

A

Presentation:

[B&W]

Sound:

[Dolby Digital Mono]

Time:

1:56:00

Sales rank:

159

Special Features

What Did the Lady Forget?, a 1937 feature by Yasujiro Ozu
New video essay by film scholar David Bordwell
Ozu & Noda, a new documentary by Daniel Raim on Ozu's longtime collaboration with screenwriter Kogo Noda

Editorial Reviews

Flavor of Green Tea Over Rice is a subtle, finely nuanced character study that, like most of Yasujiro Ozu's films, is a bit too rarefied for many whose heritage is not closely linked to Japan. This is a shame, for while Green Tea is not one of Ozu's masterpieces, it is a keenly perceptive examination of a marriage -- the demands it places upon its partners, the difficulty of maintaining communication, and the feelings of anger, melancholy, and despair that exist side by side with the moments of warmth and joy. Ozu, who is famous for his static camera, which he uses with expert mastery, actually employs a somewhat more fluid style herein, with a number of tracking shots used to quite good effect. This most delicate of directors finds beautiful poetry using the simplest, most minimal means -- and this extends to his work with his actors, as witnessed in the fine performances of Michiyo Kogure and Shin Saburi; both of these actors know how to let the audience in on the storms and tumults that can rage beneath the calm.